China's crude steel output falls, keeping industry on track for cuts
BEIJING: China's crude steel output slipped sharply in May compared to the prior year, surprising analysts and keeping steelmakers on track for lower production this year in line with Beijing's push to cut output in the sector.
Beijing unveiled plans in March to restructure the giant steel sector via output cuts this year, leaving key details including the time and scale of output curb unanswered.
May output slid 6.9% from a year earlier to 86.55 million metric tons, taking the year-to-date total to 431.63 million tons of crude steel, down 1.7% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.
Struggle for steel continues
May output missed expectations among analysts again after an unexpected fall in April.
An official from the state-backed China Iron and Steel Association forecast at an industrial event last week China's steel output will fall by 4% year-on-year in 2025.
Falling output in the world's largest steelmaker comes at a time when profitability among steelmakers is improving thanks to robust exports and better-than-expected domestic demand.
More than a half of Chinese steelmakers were operating at a profit in the first five months, versus an average of 35% over the same period in 2024, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
Despite growing trade barriers, China's steel exports from January to May climbed by 8.9% to an all-time high for the period at 48.47 million tons.
Average daily output in May was 2.79 million tons, down 2.6% from 2.87 million tons in April, according to Reuters calculations based on the data.
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